Containment Breach
by Simple Turtle
Summary: A subject escapes in the facility and it's first target seems to be another subject. The facility is put on lock down leaving Rosalind to keep it's target, Elizabeth, safe until the creature is contained. Avoiding the creature will be hard enough but Rosalind was never meant to be a babysitter. AU
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock or anything related.

Prologue

An unproductive workday usually meant boredom for Rosalind Lutece. But that was her workday everyday. Hours upon hours of boredom. She'd been given the one subject that was relatively normal. But that seemed to only be a curse when she realized her job was to record every movement of a girl who did nothing but draw and hum to herself.

Her assigned subject was a 15 year old girl named Elizabeth. She'd been raised behind a glass window her entire life and Rosalind Lutece had watched her from the time she was 6 to the present at age 15. She didn't speak, maybe because there was no one there, maybe because she didn't know how to. No one taught her to read or write or do anything essential. It was a shock to her that she wasn't some sort of feral child. But maybe that was because of the videos.

Her supervisor, Zachary Comstock, insisted that she play one video and recording a day. It was usually of him speaking of something she didn't care to listen to. Lately, however, it had been her own audio recordings. According to Comstock, he didn't want her to be stupid and listening to her was almost as good as listening to him. And that apparently was the best compliment she'd ever get out of him.

The videos were of biblical stories. Stories that Comstock had rewritten to fit with what he was doing to her. Not that she'd ever have a chance to see something other then that. Comstock had plans to release her, but when he did, the girl would be more then useless to him.

"I believe she's stable today." she murmured before writing a few notes down.

"She's always stable." her brother spoke up. She looked away from her notes to see him attempting to balance a pen on his nose.

"Thank you, Robert." she said bitterly. It annoyed her how calm and carefree he always seemed whenever he was here. Unlike her, he wasn't required to be there everyday. His work included places outside of the observation room and she had to admit that she was a little jealous.

"All of this," he dropped the pen and looked at her, "I don't like it."

"Not this again." Rosalind dimmed the observation window and frowned at her brother. Why did he always bring up the same conversation every time they were in the office together? "She's known nothing but the inside of that room, taking her out now would only lead her into shock."

"I meant this," Robert smirked and held up a sheet of paper, "The menu for today is sickening." Rosalind rolled her eyes and looked away.

"What are we having?" she asked with a sigh.

"Macaroni and cheese." Robert said, "Made with the company's cheese substitute." They both wrinkled their noses at the same time.

"We could eat out." she suggested.

"And miss a minute that could be used to watch the girl draw all over the walls?" Robert gasped, "Never!"

"You could pick us something up, I'll stay here." she rolled her eyes and he chuckled.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. What are you in the mood for?"

"Peaches." she answered quickly. When was the last time she'd had an actual peach? She spent so much time locked in this small office, watching the girl go on with her life instead of focusing on her own. She'd been ignoring her health for some time now, but she had to, she wasn't being given a choice. "Or maybe just tea." she added.

"I think I can manage a few peaches for you." Robert said, "And I'll surprise you with a nice dinner."

"It's still breakfast time, don't tease me." she said. Elizabeth took out her sketchbook, just as she did everyday and began to draw. There weren't many things in her room for her to use as models, so she usually tried to replicate the people seen in the videos. She wasn't bad at it either. Years of watching the same things over and over had caused her to become very well-versed with detail.

"Are you hungry now?" Robert asked, "Should I get you breakfast?"

"You just want an excuse to leave." she said, "And we just ate."

"Can you blame me? She does the same thing day and night. Yesterday was the only day that her schedule changed and that was only because she wanted to finish a drawing." Robert said, "Watching her all day makes me feel unfulfilled."

"You don't have to watch her all day." She started.

"Yes, I know. You do, but do you have to?" He finished.

"You know I do." He knew why she had to do this, why did he always question it?

"Rosalind, you've poured 9 years into this project. 9 years of watching this girl wake up draw a picture or two and eat her scheduled meals." Robert said, "Do you think it's been worth it?"

"No, but-"

"You sacrifice too much. By the time you make enough to start your own research, you'll be on your death bed." Robert said. And maybe he was right, her job wasn't constant with the payments and several times she's had to deplete their savings because of work related accidents that weren't her fault to begin with. She'd sucked them into this business and it was almost impossible for them to get out of it. "But how about I buy you a candy bar?" Rosalind blinked at the sudden change in conversation.

"I don't like chocolate." she said.

"Butterscotch?" he suggested, "Or maybe peppermints." He picked up his jacket and started for the door, "But I'll bring you a bag of them." She smiled at him as he left, and was almost certain that he'd come back with two bags of them for her. He always knew when he made her the slightest bit upset and his usual response was to buy several bags of candy for her. And she really meant several. Her desk was full of candy that she'd never eaten.

"That isn't necessary." she said before he left. He flashed her a smile that told her that he believed it was necessary.

A bell chimed and signaled the time for Elizabeth's next meal. The meal itself was the same everyday. A bagel with a vitamin spread. A glass of enhanced water and a bowl of soup made from whatever essential vitamins that weren't in the spread. That was breakfast, lunch, and even dinner. In a way, it was almost similar to the meals they served in the cafeteria.

Rosalind walked over to a small fridge and retrieved the pre-made lunch. She set them on a tray and slid them through a small slot below the window. A screech cut through the halls and the lights flickered slightly. It was custom for cries like that to be heard, so she didn't question it.

Robert returned without the candy. "They won't let me leave." he plopped down in his seat and crossed his arms.

"Does it have anything to do with the screeching I just heard?" she asked. There was another screech and she tensed. She wasn't afraid, but the noise just annoyed her and that was her reaction to everything that annoyed her. To tense up and block it out. That was normal. For her at least.

"It's alright." Robert said.

"I know." she glared his way, "I'm sure they have it contained."

"It's Fink's bird we're hearing right?" Robert scratched his chin, "How do they keep that contained?"

"It's cage is a large pressurized room. If it begins to cause problems they increase the pressure of the room. The bird wasn't built to withstand that type of pressure, so it's usually rendered unconscious by it." she explained.

"And you know this how?"

"Because I helped design it." she smirked. She'd helped to design several aspects of the building, even Elizabeth's room was designed by her.

"Is that why they have your portrait down in the lobby?"

"My portrait is in the lobby?"

"You walk by it every morning." Robert said. But she'd never noticed, her main focus was always to get out of the door before someone else found something only she could fix., "You should take a day off."

"Taking a day off means finding someone to replace me while I'm away." she said, "And no one in their right mind would do that." Not with the mind numbing work she was doing. It was a wonder she hadn't gone insane yet.

"I could do it." Robert said, "And we'll talk about that later. But now, Elizabeth has a paper cut." Rosalind rolled her eyes and jotted down the information. She worked in silence for a while and Robert didn't say anything. She almost forgot he was there. Until he spoke up, "What would happen if the power went out? They wouldn't be able to apply the necessary pressure to contain it."

"No, they wouldn't." she agreed.

"Doesn't that scare you?"

"No."

"It scares me. So I know it scares you. We're-"

"-practically the same person." she finished, "But we aren't and I'm not scared."

"But what would it do if it was given the chance to revolt against it's captors? What if it came here?" his eyes widened and he looked to her, "What if-"

"Stop it." She interrupted.

"What?"

"Why are you doing that?"

"_What?_"

"Stop."

"Okay."

"_Stop_."

"I said okay!" Robert smiled, "I was just curious." Rosalind stood up and walked over to him. She planted the clipboard on his lap and left the room. He called after her, but she didn't answer. She needed a break, and she was going to take one.

0.o.0.o.0

Robert felt slightly guilty for causing her to storm off. She was stressed, he knew that. Her usual calm state was gone and almost everything caused her to snap. She was tired, hungry, and altogether unsatisfied with her job.

She worked hard. Her shift started at 5 am and ended at 11 pm. It was tiring and after 9 years of it, he knew she wanted to quit. Which is why he couldn't understand why she didn't.

When they were younger, only 17, she'd come to the facility as in intern. She was younger then and though she wasn't naïve, she hadn't experienced enough of life to be able to see past every trick in the book. She'd hoped that with enough time, she'd be hired and allowed to start her own projects. And Comstock had told her that her chance would come soon. But after 9 years, he had to wonder if there ever was a chance for her.

She was trapped, but she wouldn't tell how she'd gotten to this point. When he'd started working with her, when he was 22, everyone spoke highly of her. They'd waited for him to join the team as well because they're success rate had gone up once Rosalind had been hired. Her portrait in the lobby was the second largest. The first being Comstock. She was also named as a founder of the company, which had been in it's early stages when she began to work. With all of that, how… How had she been left with the job she had now? It was the type of job that could be left to people with have the intelligence of Rosalind. An assistant or multiple assistants could do this job and she could focus on better things.

The clock chimed as it did every hour and he made the decision to allow her to rest for another hour. He knew she'd gone to his office, that was the only other private place she could relax in. In an hour, he would find her and apologize for making her storm off.

Time passed slowly and just when he thought the hour was up, he realized only ten minutes had passed. He grew restless, he'd never been able to stay in one place for too long. "50 minutes." he told himself, then he would go and apologize.

The scheduled recording began to play in Elizabeth's room and he was shocked to hear Rosalind's voice. It was much younger and actually adorable. It was the recording she'd been required to attach to her intern application, he'd helped her set up the recorder.

She spoke of an early idea they'd came up with together, 'Infusions'. They would increase health and enhance several basic senses. Rosalind sounded eager and her voice held a confidence that he didn't hear much of today. It was odd. Rosalind was in no way insecure, but her voice had become… blank…

He recalled her excitement when she'd been accepted. She'd bounced and laughed and even cried. She told their father of her plans to move closer to the facility and he'd immediately told her no. She was his only daughter and there was no way he was going to allow her to leave at such a young age. Not by herself at least. Which is why Robert had decided to accompany her. He would finish his studies and eventually join her at the facility. Due to some circumstances, he'd ended up having to wait 5 years before he could join her, and by then, she was already trapped.

The recording ended and he sighed, his sister had changed. "Has anything changed?" he heard her and was shocked.

"I thought you'd be sleeping by now." he said.

"In your chair?" she took the clipboard back, "I couldn't, your office is too close to the genetics department." It was always noisy in the genetics department. As a physicist, he'd never had the opportunity to see what happened in there, but it couldn't have been worse then the twisted experiments that went on in his own department. "Comstock will be stopping by soon." Rosalind said.

"For what?"

"He wants to speak about the girl." Rosalind sighed. He nodded and looked towards the window. He couldn't imagine living inside of one room all day. The girl had apparently never seen the inside of that room which made the situation a lot less heartless, but still… It wasn't right. Did he really expect the girl to what he wanted once she was finally released? If she could, that is, she couldn't read or write and her social skills were garbage. "Robert." Rosalind had moved next to him, "Keep your thoughts to yourself." she warned.

They locked eyes and he frowned. Why did she insist on treating him like a school boy? He didn't need warnings, he knew as much as she did and he hated it when she-

"Good morning." Comstock's voice cut into his thoughts and he stood up. "I didn't expect you to be her Robert." And he probably didn't want him there, but he wasn't going anywhere. "I think it may be time to release my lamb." he turned to Rosalind.

"Are you sure? We have nothing ready to help ease her into this place. She might go into shock or-

"She will still stay in her room, but she'll be allowed to interact with you." Comstock continued, "And only you." Robert smirked at that. Surely Comstock knew by now that whatever was given to Rosalind seemed to automatically be given to him. "Teach her to read, to write, speak properly."

"I can't see this turning out well." Rosalind said, "But if you are sure this is the time, then we will."

"I'll be back next month, If she's doing alright, we'll try taking her out into the outside world." Comstock stood near the window and watched Elizabeth draw. "My lamb…" he said softly, "It's almost time." He placed his hands on the window and closed his eyes, "Rosalind, it's almost time, have you assembled your team."

"Not yet." she answered. Robert looked to her curiously, but she just shrugged, "I still need 2 more members."

"Jeremiah Fink and Marlowe." Comstock said. Rosalind wrinkled her nose. She hated Fink and barely knew Marlowe. Whatever it was she needed a team for, she definitely wouldn't be choosing them.

"I don't think I'll be needing help from them."

"Can I assume you've asked your brother already?"

"Not yet." Why hadn't she mentioned this to him? Whatever it was, she must have had ample time to tell him.

"I'm sure he'll agree to it." Comstock opened his eyes, "Release her today." He started towards the door.

"Don't you want to see her?" Rosalind asked, "Or speak to her?" He didn't know if Elizabeth and Comstock were related in any way, but the display he'd just put on implied that he cared for her. Wouldn't he want to see her first moments outside of her room?

"No. She isn't ready for that yet." Comstock said, "I'll give her time." Comstock left the room and Rosalind rolled her eyes.

"She isn't ready for him?" Robert repeated.

"Is anyone ready for Comstock?" she huffed as she closed the door.

"You have a point." he nodded.

"I know." she went over to her computer, "Will you be staying?"

"Yes." he went to her side and watched her enter a code into some program, "I'd like to see what we're dealing with."

"We?"

"Yes, we." he raised his eyebrows, "Unless you want me to go."

"Of course not," she said quickly, "but you do have your own job." His job didn't require 24/7 work. He had plenty of time to spare.

"Not right now." he murmured, "I'd rather be here right now." Rosalind smiled and finished entering the code. The was a click and the window began to slide open.

0.o.0.o.0

_This was just the prologue. The real story starts after Elizabeth's been released. I'm sure Rosalind might seem out of character here but there's a reason for that. You'll see. The next chapter will be up soon._


	2. Chapter 2

They waited impatiently for the entire glass to slide away before examining the girls. She stared back at them but did not react. "How do we proceed?" Robert whispered.

"Slowly." She wasn't sure how Elizabeth would react or if she would react at all. She had been alone for such a long time that she would probably pass it off as a hallucination. "Hello." she said softly, "My name is Rosalind Lutece." Elizabeth nodded, "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes." she answered.

"She can talk." Robert whispered eagerly.

"Calm down." Rosalind hissed, "From where?" She asked Elizabeth. Elizabeth pointed to her ears, "The recordings." Rosalind murmured.

"Yes." she repeated.

"Can you say anything other then yes?" Rosalind motioned for Robert to begin writing notes.

"Yes."

"How do we know if she's answering us?" Robert asked.

"We'll ask her something else." Rosalind said, "Do you recognize him?" She pointed to Robert.

"No. Just you." Elizabeth answered. The rest of the day until lunch was filled with yes or no questions, but Elizabeth had stopped answering with words. She shook her head and nodded but that was all they could get out of her.

"The lockdown's up." Robert said, "I'm going to get lunch."

"Quickly then, get the girl some soup and bread." Rosalind said. Robert left the room and Rosalind looked over his notes. He'd shorthanded everything and though she could make out some of it, most of it was lost to her. "Elizabeth, may I see your drawings?" she asked.

Elizabeth blinked, "That." she pointed to the sketchbook and Elizabeth handed it to her. The drawings were mostly the same few objects. Her bed, the TV and herself. The detail was astounding, but maybe that was because she had a lot of time to practice. There was a drawing of a teddy bear, which she found odd. Elizabeth did not have a teddy bear and any bear she saw in the videos would not have nearly as much detail. "Was this yours?" she pointed the picture and Elizabeth nodded, "Where is it?"

"Gone." she mumbled, "They took it."

"Who?" Rosalind asked. Elizabeth shrugged. It had most likely happened before she had been assigned to the project. It didn't shock her at all, the scientists here were cruel. They wouldn't feel a shred of guilt for taking a small child's only toy. Moreover, she had to admit, she didn't either.

She gave the sketchbook back and sighed, "Why don't you come out of there?" she asked.

"No."

"There's a lot to see out here." she tried, "Surely you want to see it." Elizabeth shook her head and retreated to the back of the room.

Rosalind made a note and walked over to the window. She'd expected her to be glad to get out. Wouldn't she want to see more of the world? Maybe she was intimidated by the fact that there had always been people on the other side of her mirror. "Are you hungry?" she asked. Elizabeth didn't answer. It was around her lunch time and the tray of food was waiting to be given to her, but she'd already decided to give her something different.

She herself was getting pretty hungry. They passed the time with several tedious questions. Rosalind wanted a full scale of what she was dealing with. Her perception of things were minimal and if she didn't understand anything, she remained quiet. It was a relief when Robert finally returned with the lunch.

"Sorry I took so long." he said, "But I got peaches." He held up a bruised fruit, "I dropped them on the way in, I don't suggest eating it."

"Then why show it to me?" she mumbled.

"Okay, so the soups a little hot, so be careful." He set the bag down on her desk and took out the containers, "And Rosalind, I got you some chicken."

"Chicken?"

"Chicken fried rice." Robert said, "I went to several places to get the food. The soup came from Herbert's down the street and the rice came from The Chinese Kitchen."

"What did you get yourself?"

"Cheesecake…"

"That isn't a lunch Robert."

"It'll work. I have some for you guys as well." Rosalind poured the soup into the usual grey bowl and replaced the bagel with the biscuits Robert gave her. "Here, it's apple juice." Robert poured a glass of it and placed it on the tray.

She slid it through the lunch slot and grabbed her notes. She was curious, how exactly would she react to the new flavors. The food she had before must have been bland, at least it looked that way. "Eat, Rosalind." Robert said. Rosalind nodded and watched as Elizabeth took her tray and sat down. She looked confused as she picked up her spoon and sampled the new soup.

Her eyebrows rose at the new flavor but she didn't make a sound. "It's tomato soup." Robert said, "I didn't know what else to get."

"It'll do." Rosalind murmured as she reached for her own lunch. Elizabeth played in her food before eating it. She stirred it and marveled at the consistency of it. It wasn't too thick, but it was far more denser then the usual water-like soup from before.

"What is this?" Elizabeth asked half through the bowl.

"Tomato soup." Robert answered, "What do you think."

"It's different." she said as she continued to eat. They all ate quietly with Rosalind documenting everything as usual. Rosalind cleaned up while Robert asked a few more questions and documented her answers. He seemed to be getting a better reaction then she had. There were more facial expressions from the girl, maybe because Robert was smiling more.

Whatever the case, he had a sensible amount of data collected by the time her shift was over. "Goodnight, Elizabeth." Robert said, "We'll be leaving soon."

"Where?" Elizabeth blinked.

"Home, it's time to sleep."

"We'll return in the morning." Rosalind said, but Elizabeth only frowned as the window began to close again. They had to close it, even though Robert didn't like it. If they left it open, there was a possibility that Elizabeth would decide to leave the room on her own and explore her surroundings. That would come eventually, but now wasn't the time for that.

"Let's go." she said with a sigh, "I'm tired."

0.o.0.o.0

.The initial meeting had gone well in Rosalind's opinion. As expected, Elizabeth couldn't read or write. The words he knew were from the videos and recordings, but she didn't speak. Not because she couldn't, they'd had a brief conversation at one point, but because she didn't understand a lot of what was being said.

"She was excited." Robert said as they drove home, "I saw it in her eyes."

"She was." Rosalind agreed, "And she was sad when we told her it was time to go." But that was expected. They were the only real people she'd seen and now they were gone. Rosalind had made sure to tell her they would return in the morning but she could tell that Elizabeth didn't know how long that would be.

"When will she be let out?" Robert asked, "Out of the facility."

"I can't say. I don't know if Comstock wants her to leave the facility." Elizabeth had been given the chance to explore the office, yet she'd chosen to stay inside of her room. "But she isn't ready for that anyway."

"Hm." Robert hummed as he tapped the steering wheel, "I've been given a new project." Rosalind frowned. She always grew too comfortable with his company during work. He had his own work, but the time between projects always left him with nothing to do. It was comforting to have him there to make sure she was doing alright. He had lunch with her, something she always forgot to do when he wasn't around. He helped record data, although now it wasn't as tedious as before. A new project usually meant boredom, but that wouldn't be a problem this time. "It's in London." he added quickly.

"What?" Rosalind blinked, "They're sending you to London?"

"For a month." Robert confirmed, "And… I'll be leaving in a few weeks." Rosalind narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked

"I'm telling you now." he sighed.

"But you'll be gone an entire month." she crossed her arms, "You should have told me."

"You're right." he sighed. Usually, that would have been a victory for her. Because they were equally matched in intelligence, they always ended they're debates in a tie. When ever she happened to stump him with an equation she usually felt really good about it, this time she only felt angered.

They arrived home quickly and Rosalind went straight to her room. She hated when he kept things from her. Sure, she knew she wasn't entitled to know everything he did, but this was big. She was forced to deal with Comstock's spontaneity, but Robert had always made sure she knew things a few days prior to when the occurred. He was constant and she liked that.

"Rosalind?" she smelled cheese, "I made your favorite dinner."

"That isn't my favorite," she sighed, "It's yours."

"You caught me." he opened the door and let himself in, "As I'm sure you already know, it's grilled cheese." He sat down on the bed and passed the plate to her, "I cut them into triangles."

"Robert," she glared at him, "I'm not 26, not 5." But she took it anyway, "Is this the magnificent dinner I was promised?" She took a bite and set it back down on the plate.

"Indeed it is." he nodded, "But for the most part, it's an excuse to come in."

"I never said you could come in." she reminded.

"Whoops." he shrugged, "I only found out last week."

"So?"

"I wasn't sure how to tell you." he sighed, "But it's only a month."

"We've never been apart for more then a day." she said, "A month will be a long time."

"We can call each other." he said, "And Skype."

"When will we actually have time to do that? Our time zones are-

"We'll sort this all out before I leave" Robert said, "But I have a question for you now."

"What?"

"What was Comstock speaking about earlier?" He asked.

Rosalind sighed. "I'm being promoted."

"That's great… right?"

"If one likes prolonged meetings with Comstock and his 'associates'." She snorted, "I'll get unlimited funding if I do take the position."

"That's what you wanted." Robert said, "This is great."

"Not entirely, I still won't have time for my own projects since I'll be overseeing everything else. But that's only after Elizabeth is ready to stand on her own." Rosalind said. But eventually, she'd be able to do what she'd come to the company to do, it had taken 9 years, but now she had her opportunity. There were a few problems, like Comstock suggesting she take partners. And his suggestions were more like orders, but she would choose only the people she wanted to, not the creeps he suggested.

Like Robert, he would become the vice president. They would be partners in this and things would be as she dreamed. "So why do you need a team?"

"Because he doesn't believe I'm qualified to lead anyone." she found herself struggling to remain calm. Why was it that people didn't see how qualified she was for anything? She had a higher degree then anyone she worked with, yet they treated her as a schoolgirl.

"But you are." Robert said, "And I'm going to bed."

"Already? It's only 9." But she was tired as well, "Alright then."

"Tomorrow, I'll wake up early and make breakfast."

"You?" she raised her eyebrows. She'd never known Robert to wake up before her, in fact he woke with just enough time to shower and shave before rushing out alongside her.

"That does seem too ambitious for me." he agreed, "I'll grab an apple before we go and pretend it's eggs and bacon." They laughed softly before Robert took the sandwich and left the room. He murmured a quick goodnight before closing the door after himself.

Rosalind quickly changed into her nightgown before going to sleep. Her last thought were, oddly enough, of Elizabeth.

0.o.0.o.0

_Yup, abrupt endings are my specialty._


End file.
